Embedded Files
Learning in Classrooms
Learning in Classrooms
Welcome to our latest newsletter! We've had a busy two weeks filled with exciting activities, creative projects, and fantastic learning across the school. From writing to pen pals and exploring local maps to making pizzas and creating cubist art, there’s so much to celebrate.
Year 6 have been busy writing letters to their French pen pals — in both English and French! They’ve really enjoyed sharing a bit about themselves and practising their language skills. Over the next few months, they’ll be sending and receiving more letters, building up their conversations. Everyone is really looking forward to meeting their pen pals in person when the French school visits in June!
In the Sunshine Room, the children have been learning about their local area in Geography. They’ve enjoyed exploring different types of maps and discovering common map symbols. Using their knowledge and a bit of imagination, they’ve created their own maps – and they look fantastic! As part of their learning, the children also visited Pizza Express, where they took part in a fun, hands-on session to learn how to prepare their own pizzas. From kneading the dough to adding their favourite toppings, everyone had a great time becoming mini pizza chefs for the day!
This week, Year 1 have been reading Stanley’s Stick. The children have all produced some fantastic work on the story by writing captions for pictures from the book and designing what they would use their own sticks as. They decorated their own sticks, used sticks to write with, and sang a silly stick song. In Geography, they have been learning about their school grounds by exploring features of the environment and locating the school (and even their own homes!) on Google Earth. They followed this by writing and drawing their own maps, then being creative by making maps in the art area. The children also labelled pictures of the school’s features using their phonic knowledge for writing.
Year 5 had a great time during their RE lesson by making their own Sikh langar. They cooked and shared a simple, vegetarian meal while learning about the important ideas of kindness, equality, and helping others that are part of this Sikh tradition. It was a fun and hands-on way for the class to explore different cultures and work together.
Reception, Year 1, and Year 2 enjoyed a visit from Colgate, who gave them a fun talk all about dental hygiene. The kids learned how to keep their teeth clean and healthy, and they even got free toothbrushes and toothpaste to take home! It was a great way to help them start good habits early.
Reception have also been using lots of different construction materials and were challenged to create the tallest tower. Take a look at what they made in the photos! In Maths, they have been using their maths skills to sort different objects.
Year 4 have been enjoying their cornet lessons this term! Even though they only started this year, they’re already making a great start by learning the basics, practicing notes, and playing simple tunes. It’s been exciting to see their confidence grow as they make music together and discover the joy of playing an instrument.
Experiences and Opportunities
Experiences and Opportunities
Year 3 Target Games Tournament
Year 3 Target Games Tournament
Written by Arabella, Scarlett & Millie - Year 3
At the tournament, we did lots of different activities. We did bowling, archery and throwing bean bags into hoops. In one of the games, we had to kick the ball and aim for a cone. If we hit the cone, we then could collect it and the first team to collect all the cones were the winners.
Bella's and Scarlett's favourite activity was the archery and Millie's was the beanbag game. Scarlett was very proud of herself for getting lots of points. Millie was really proud of Emily because she got to the 100 points on the bowling game! Bella was proud of herself for not throwing the beanbag onto her own head!
Forest School
Forest School
This week in Forest School, we have been connecting with nature by observing the forest floor, then using leaves to make prints.
We placed leaves and flower petals between sheets of material and used hammers to make the leaf print using the natural ink inside. This method is called 'hapa zome'.
The sunshine room, also brought their homemade pizzas down to Forest School and heated them on the fire, which was lit by a child in year 6!
Macmillan Coffee Afternoon
Macmillan Coffee Afternoon
We're thrilled to share that, thanks to your generosity, we raised £120.88 for Macmillan Cancer Support! Every penny will help provide vital care and support to those affected by cancer. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who donated, took part, or helped spread the word — your kindness truly makes a difference.
Art Club
Art Club
In Art Club, the children have been exploring some of Picasso’s most famous works, with a particular focus on his iconic Cubist portraits. They especially enjoyed learning about the unique shapes used in Cubism. Inspired by what they’ve seen, they are now busy creating their own Cubist-style artwork — and the results are already looking fantastic!
Upcoming Dates
Upcoming Dates
Secondary School Application
Secondary School Application
Parents of Year 6 children will need to begin the exciting process of secondary school application. Families are encouraged to explore their options early and carefully consider which schools best suit their child's needs and interests. Throughout September and October, there will be open days at secondary schools. It's important to note that on-time applications for secondary school places must be submitted by 31 October 2025.
Celebrating Success
Celebrating Success
Class Dojo
Class Dojo
This year, we have introduced Class Dojo. A way of celebrating individuals and classes that are following our school rules of:
Be Kind. Show Respect. Aim High.
Children will be able to receive one or two points for these core values from any member of staff. We will keep an eye on which individuals, classes and house groups are being the kindest, most respectful and ambitious over the year.
Blue House
246
Green House
273
Red House
261
Yellow House
253
Highest number of correct answers:
1st) Wyatt - Year 2
2nd) Frankie - Year 2
3rd) Mohammed - Year 2
Most coins over the last 14 days:
1st) Hriyaan - Year 5
2nd) Harry G - Year 3
3rd) Yunice - Year 4
Attendance
Attendance
Nursery
88.8%
Reception
96.1%
Year 1
96.8%
Year 2
94.3%
Year 3
91.5%
Year 4
88.1%
Year 5
96.7%
Year 6
96%
Congratulations to Year 1 for aiming high with their attendance this week. The class will receive bonus Class Dojo points for Aiming High!
Learning of the Week
Every week, we celebrate extraordinary learning that has taken place in classes. It may be that they have pushed passed an obstacle in their learning; worked on their presentation; thought about how to help others amongst other things.
Our Learning of the Week for the last fortnight goes to:
Reception
Noah - for learning how to ask for help and feeling more confident at lunchtime.
Melina - for learning how to tell an adult how you are feeling and for growing in confidence.
Casey - Casey for wonderful knowledge about hibernation and for sharing with the class.
Rinoa - Rinoa for brilliant phonics work.
Year 1
Maya - Maya has taken her learning about illustrations in books to independently draw her own picture using lines to represent movements.
Leia - Well done to Leia for independently writing a lovely message to her friend for our Dot Day kindness notes during Busy Fingers.
Julia - Julia has been working hard on writing a caption or sentence for a picture independently. She has tried hard to add extra details.
Freddie - Freddie continued his learning about physical features in our school grounds from Geography by taking this into his own play when he made a map using craft materials to represent each feature.
Year 2
Alessya - For writing a brilliant narrative in English about Krock finding his lost girlfriend. Keep up the amazing hard work! We love reading your stories and ideas.
Evie - For writing a brilliant narrative in English about Poppy finding her lost cousin in the mountains. We love reading your stories and ideas Evie! We are very proud of you!
Angel - For creating an amazing imaginative beast in English and writing some lovely descriptive sentences about her beast.
Wyatt - This week in maths Wyatt has been trying his best and is contributing well to discussions and always wanting to help his peers.
Year 3
Scarlett - Scarlett has shown great independence this week in English when starting to write her explanation text. She has created her own sweet and next week will be explaining how it is made!
Logan - Logan’s attitude this week has been fantastic. He is starting his activities straight away and trying his best when he gets stuck.
Harley - Harley really impressed his adults with his Art work this week. He has been learning about how we can use and create different tints, shades and tones.
Stefan V - Stefan has aimed high during Maths this week. On Wednesday, he was able to use different resources when adding 1s across 10 using column addition.
Year 4
Hayden - Hayden has made a great start to Year 4. His presentation is coming along, he is contributing to class discussions and he is making sure he is ready to learn.
Fatima - Fatima has settled into Year 4 with such ease. She is making great choices and following instructions well. Fatima has grown in confidence since last year.
Woody - Woody worked so hard to persevere in many lessons this week. In Maths, he was able to work out what the missing digits were in column addition. In Computing, he tried hard to debug his code when it didn’t work first time.
Lacey - Lacey found Maths challenging this week, but has continued to aim high and keep trying. She has learnt to exchange when adding BIG numbers!
Year 5
Penny - Penny has worked really hard this week. She tries her best in every lesson and has worked especially hard with rounding in Maths.
Cillian - Cillian has made a super start to Year 5. He works hard in all lessons and has been taking on board feedback in Maths and English.
Tamsyn - Tamsyn works hard in all lessons. She is a fantastic writer and has been able to write a formal letter using lots of high-level vocabulary. She even shared a story she’d written at home with me about a monster babysitter!
Sofia S - Sofia worked really hard in Maths solving multi-step word problems. She used her highlighter to identify the key information and then used column method to solve. Sofia even corrected her mistakes.
Year 6
Xiamara - Ximara has made a really big effort to work on her spelling this week and we are already seeing massive improvements in this. Xiamara has shown a mature attitude to her learning and is really trying to use everything taught to improve her writing and we can’t wait to read the final edit.
Isaak - Isaak has been trying really hard recently with his writing. He has had some lovely ideas for writing about Whitby Abbey and is trying hard to use figurative language and other techniques taught. Well done Isaak, I can’t wait to read the final edit.
Elsa - Elsa has been supportive during breakfast club recently and helps the younger children. She shows kindness and compassion when helping them which is lovely to see. Well done!
Sophia - Sophia always tries hard with her work and presents everything beautifully. We have loved seeing her confidence develop and hearing her share her wonderful ideas. Keep up the good work.
Sunshine Learning Community
Alfie - Alfie has been trying his best in his Maths learning. Well done Alfie - keep it up!
Riley - Riley was a real super star when creating an aerial view of our classroom.
Aaliyah-Mai - For trying her best in her learning all week, especially in our Phonics lessons.
Well done to everyone who worked so hard this fortnight, it is fantastic to see so many positive learning experiences!
Pupil Leadership
School Council
Each class has now chosen two school councillors to represent them on the School Council. These pupils will share their classmates’ ideas, help make decisions, and take part in projects to improve our school. We’re proud of everyone who put themselves forward and look forward to seeing the great work our new councillors will do this year!
Reception - Rayn and Jules
Year 1 - Maya and Johnny
Year 2 - Finlay and Alessya
Year 3 - Bella and Scarlett
Year 4 - Harleigh and Poppi
Year 5 - Harry and Char
Year 6 - Liam and Archie
Letters
Please find all of our latest letters here: https://www.micklem.herts.sch.uk/letters/
If you have any questions regarding anything coming up, do not hesitate to ask.
Upcoming Dates
Upcoming Dates
13th October - Swimming lessons start
16th October - Year 3 & 4 Cross Country Event
18th October - PTA Volunteer Day
23rd October - PTA Spooks & Sparkles Disco
27th - 31st October - Half-term Holiday
7th November - Non-uniform Day
Wraparound Care
If you attend, or would like to attend, our breakfast or after school club, eligible working parents can get a £2 top-up for every £8 towards the cost of their childcare. Follow the links below for further information.
https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/childcare-early-years-education/tax-free-childcare
PTA
If you haven't already done so you can secure your child's place at the Spooks & Sparkles disco by going onto Arbor-School Shop-Spooks & Sparkles Disco.
SEND and Family Support
DSPL8's parent/ carers' newsletter is available on their website via clicking the image above. Their newsletters always include lots of information about FREE events and courses running for families in our area. These are some that particularly stood out to us, but there are lots more available!
Anger Avengers
Anger Avengers is a FREE 4-week online group designed to help children understand and manage feelings of anger in positive ways.
Sessions are fun and interactive, using games, activities, and discussion to teach strategies for calming down, expressing emotions safely, and building confidence to manage big emotions.
To Register you can do any of the following:
fill out their online referral form here: Anger Avengers
download a copy and email it to withyouth@hertfordshiremind.org
call 0208 189 8400 to speak to speak to one of their support workers directly
click the blue 'chat with us' button on their website, to chat on their instant messaging service between 2pm-10pm every day https://www.withyouth.org/who-we-are/about-the-service/
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